Mumbai, Jan 9: Close on the heels of arrest of a couple of Kashmiris, the Mumbai police has issued an advisory to various police stations asking them to keep a watch on people from the state, especially drivers, as some of them are suspected to have been carrying out recce for militant groups.
 The advisory, which was circulated among various police stations of the megapolis, was issued after the arrest of two Kashmiris in November last year, based on a specific intelligence input provided by Jammu & Kashmir police.
 The J&K police had also informed the Union home ministry about the possible “sinister designs of some militant groups”, especially Lashkar-e-Taiba, to carry out a recce exercise between Mumbai and Ahmedabad for which services of some drivers were used, sources said.
 Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had on November 29 last year arrested two Kashmiri youths - for allegedly trying to recruit members for LeT and obtaining details of military and oil installations in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
 Muhammed Shareef Makhandeen Thakkar, 33, and Muhammed Isak Mohammed Rasheed Kumlakh, 29, both working as oil tanker drivers, were accused of trying to recruit members for the LeT outfit after receiving instructions from their handlers in J&K and across the border.
 "Terror outfits like LeT and Indian Mujahideen is trying to recruit Kashmiri youths and drivers to conduct recce of sensitive areas including defence establishments. Any police station under whose jurisdiction there are oil depots or defence installations should ensure proper security both inside and outside the place," the advisory reads.
 It further states if any private security agency is employing any Kashmiri men as security guards, police should conduct proper scrutiny of such men. "A watch should also be kept on any foreign national found roaming in a suspicious manner in a crowded places," it says.
 Efforts to seek comments from director general of Maharashtra D Sivanandan, Mumbai police commissioner Sanjeev Dayal and ATS chief Rakesh Maria could not fructify as SMS and calls remained unanswered.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 9 Jan 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 9 Jan 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:00:00 IST